Escape from Konigsberg
I am pleased to announce the release of my latest novel, "Escape from Konigsberg", which is set in Northern Europe during the last days of WWII and based on true events including one man's courageous tale of survival. This is the second edition of a work that has taken five years to find its final form, receiving early acclaim including a compelling Kirkus Review that immediately sparked the attention of the New York Review of Books which will feature it in a June edition.
Reviews;
"It is the mark of an extraordinary craftsman to engage both the 'head and the heart' of your readers" - Susan McNeal Velasquez, Author
"Tosoff’s research is admirably meticulous—his mastery of the geopolitical currents of the day, including the details of European geography, is indisputable. He captures the impossible predicament of so many Germans at the time—loyal to their native land but also left at the mercy of an insanely criminal regime." - Kirkus Reviews
"..." beautifully depicted by Tosoff "... "prose is lucid and crisp ." - Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating read, worthy of the Silver Screen, another Doctor Zhivago" - David Worrell, Screenwriter
The Kirkus Review can be read by clicking the attached link. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Although the "Historical Fiction" aspects of the story are presented without censoring the graphic brutality of the Red Army or the terrible destruction of the Allied bombing campaign, the soul of the story is in the emotionally charged coming of age of the novel's protagonist Walter Heinrich. As an author I reached deeply into my own life experience to tell this story with both forthright boldness and, where the situation between characters called for it, sensitivity to the gentler human sentiments.
This is a part of history that few know of and that to my knowledge has not been told before. In the spring of 2013 I was waiting in the coffee room of a car dealership when an elderly gentleman sat down across from me. We broke the ice and the conversation turned to where he was from. When he said he was from Konigsberg I drew a blank. "Where is that?" I asked. He told me it no longer existed as it was renamed Kaliningrad after Stalin was awarded the ice free Baltic port after the war had ended. Forced into fleeing from the brutality of the Soviet Red Army at 14 he jumped aboard what he said was most certainly one of the last coal trains to Berlin with his two sisters 6 and 10. His mother had died, the circumstances of which no doubt arose from the brutality that was foisted upon the citizens of the cultured 700-year-old medieval city. His father, a munitions expert was incarcerated in a war camp, so without the support of an adult he bravely took charge of the survival of himself and his two sisters. When I asked whether they escaped in a boxcar he replied indignantly, "No, on top of the coal in the frigid winter." Deeply moved by his story I would like to have known more about him but time ran out and therefore I was left with the job of researching extensively and using my writer's imagination to develop an engaging and complex plot.
This epic tale follows the heroic actions of a young man whose courage and intelligence saves the lives of what is left of his family during their struggle to survive the final days of WWII.
Both my wife Karen--who is also my editor--and I are extremely proud of this novel that finds the heart of the indomitable human spirit and tells a story of love, loss and hope. I invite you to order and read the novel and hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The novel is available in paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985067005 on ebook at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D6CDQG8 and on Goodreads.
Regards,
Lloyd Tosoff, Author
Reviews;
"It is the mark of an extraordinary craftsman to engage both the 'head and the heart' of your readers" - Susan McNeal Velasquez, Author
"Tosoff’s research is admirably meticulous—his mastery of the geopolitical currents of the day, including the details of European geography, is indisputable. He captures the impossible predicament of so many Germans at the time—loyal to their native land but also left at the mercy of an insanely criminal regime." - Kirkus Reviews
"..." beautifully depicted by Tosoff "... "prose is lucid and crisp ." - Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating read, worthy of the Silver Screen, another Doctor Zhivago" - David Worrell, Screenwriter
The Kirkus Review can be read by clicking the attached link. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Although the "Historical Fiction" aspects of the story are presented without censoring the graphic brutality of the Red Army or the terrible destruction of the Allied bombing campaign, the soul of the story is in the emotionally charged coming of age of the novel's protagonist Walter Heinrich. As an author I reached deeply into my own life experience to tell this story with both forthright boldness and, where the situation between characters called for it, sensitivity to the gentler human sentiments.
This is a part of history that few know of and that to my knowledge has not been told before. In the spring of 2013 I was waiting in the coffee room of a car dealership when an elderly gentleman sat down across from me. We broke the ice and the conversation turned to where he was from. When he said he was from Konigsberg I drew a blank. "Where is that?" I asked. He told me it no longer existed as it was renamed Kaliningrad after Stalin was awarded the ice free Baltic port after the war had ended. Forced into fleeing from the brutality of the Soviet Red Army at 14 he jumped aboard what he said was most certainly one of the last coal trains to Berlin with his two sisters 6 and 10. His mother had died, the circumstances of which no doubt arose from the brutality that was foisted upon the citizens of the cultured 700-year-old medieval city. His father, a munitions expert was incarcerated in a war camp, so without the support of an adult he bravely took charge of the survival of himself and his two sisters. When I asked whether they escaped in a boxcar he replied indignantly, "No, on top of the coal in the frigid winter." Deeply moved by his story I would like to have known more about him but time ran out and therefore I was left with the job of researching extensively and using my writer's imagination to develop an engaging and complex plot.
This epic tale follows the heroic actions of a young man whose courage and intelligence saves the lives of what is left of his family during their struggle to survive the final days of WWII.
Both my wife Karen--who is also my editor--and I are extremely proud of this novel that finds the heart of the indomitable human spirit and tells a story of love, loss and hope. I invite you to order and read the novel and hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The novel is available in paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985067005 on ebook at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D6CDQG8 and on Goodreads.
Regards,
Lloyd Tosoff, Author
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